I. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to containers, and more particularly to flower containers for displaying and protecting cut flowers.
II. Description of the Prior Art
Flowers are pleasing to look at and smell. They bring back fond memories of precious moments and childhood. People often give flowers to someone they care for to show genuine affection. To this end, flowers and stems are cut from their roots and packaged for resale. A package for selling flowers should showcase the beauty of the flower to attract customers. Wilted or damaged flowers are not wanted by customers. Therefore, a package for selling flowers must also protect the flowers from the elements and handling.
The package for selling flowers must be durable, disposable, and inexpensive. In today's marketplace, flowers are sold in a variety of locations including specialty shops, drug stores, retail food outlets and street corners. In the past, flowers have been sold either without a package or wrapped in tissue paper. These techniques give the flower very little, or no, protection and are not suitable for the market channels flowers are sold in today.
Inexpensive, disposable containers for marketing, storing, packaging and serving various foods are well known. These containers commonly use at least two different components. However, this requires the stocking of several non-interchangeable components, taking up a large amount of storage space.
Food containers having interchangeable top and bottom portions have been built in the past. U.S. Pat. No. 4,974,738, issued to Kidd et al., discloses a container having a tray component and an independent cover component. The tray and cover are interchangeable, each providing a laterally extending rim. The rim is divided into two halves, one half interlocking with the second half when the tray and cover components are in a closed position. This provides a very securely locked container and an almost completely sealed compartment for transporting food. Material inside the container of the Kidd et al. patent can be observed through the cover. However, the container of the Kidd et al. patent is more securely locked and sealed than needed for protecting flowers. A flower container must let the flower breathe.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,999,611, issued to Paulson, discloses a rectangular container having interchangeable top and bottom halves. Each section has a continuous main wall and a pair of auxiliary walls at diagonal corners. The auxiliary walls are offset outwardly and extend about half-way around the main wall. A post-like abutment on the inner side of each main wall, at diagonal corners, assists in aligning the sections for assembly. A nib, attached to the main wall, fits into a socket for locking the two sections together. The container of the Paulson patent is not designed for protecting a flower. The overlapping auxiliary walls and the nib & socket arrangement seal the container more tightly than needed or desired for flowers. A flower container needs to breathe so excess moisture can be given off and lack of moisture remedied by surrounding conditions.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,620,403, issued to Rump, discloses a thin-walled thermoplastic container having an identically shaped triangular top and bottom. The top and bottom have an outwardly extending rim with a flanged portion for interlocking with the opposing rim. This container is designed for carrying food, such as pies and cakes. The container is not designed to breathe.
A container for carrying at least one flower and having the capacity to protect and display the flower while allowing the flower to breathe is not shown in the above references.